The present invention relates to a lighting system for a vehicle and particularly one for use in connection with a visor or visor-like panel.
Vehicle visors for use in automobiles with lighting means have become standard equipment on or popular accessories for many automobiles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,241 represents an illuminated visor system in which lights are positioned on opposite sides of a mirror which includes a cover for selectively covering the mirror and lights as well as controlling the operation of the lights. In such visors, the light sources are relatively intense and lenses are provided for directing the light in a converging fashion toward the front of the mirror such that the light provides sufficient illumination for use of the mirror as a vanity mirror or provide illumination when the visor is properly adjusted for use as a map reading lamp. Since the introduction of this popular illuminated visor construction, other lighting systems have been proposed, as for example, a translucent rectangular frame surrounding a visor mirror which emits a light from the entire boundary of the mirror circumscribed by the frame.
It has been discovered that the relatively intense illumination necessary for use of an illuminated visor as a map reading light source can, under some conditions, be objectionable when used as a vanity light, particularly if the light source is directly in line with the user's pupils. Thus, a light source which encompasses the entire boundary of a mirror will for many users project light directly in line with the pupils of the eyes, thereby diminishing the desirability of such a lighting system for use as a light source for a vanity mirror.